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Zimbabwe's disputed election has plunged the country back into a deep political crisis.

Deborah RiceUpdated
Fri 2 Aug 2013, 4:20 PM AEST

Early results indicate Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has won a landslide election victory which will extend his 33-year rule. But the scale of the win has only fed suspicions of widespread vote rigging, with Mugabe's long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai describing the poll as 'a sham'. His Movement for Democratic Change is calling for passive resistance, with one official suggesting protesters refuse to pay their bills and turn up to work.

Transcript

SCOTT BEVAN: Zimbabwe's disputed election has plunged the country back into a deep political crisis.

Early results show president Robert Mugabe, has won a landslide victory, which will extend his 33-year rule.

The African Union has declared the vote free and fair.

But the scale of the win has only fed suspicions of widespread rigging, with Mugabe's long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai describing the vote as "a sham".

Deborah Rice reports

DEBORAH RICE: Even before the final votes are counted, Robert Mugabe's party is claiming a comprehensive victory.

Spokesman Rugare Gumbo, says that gives ZANU-PF a mandate to increase the powers of the 89-year-old president.

RUGARE GUMBO: The possibility are that we may get two-thirds majority, in which case we can change the constitution whenever we feel like.

DEBORAH RICE: It's being billed by many as a political miracle, releasing Mugabe from the uneasy power sharing deal with Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change, which was expecting to break the president's stronghold.

In the last election in 2008 Tsvangirai won the first round of voting, but was forced out of the race after 200 of his supporters were killed and thousands more injured in suspected state-backed attacks.

This time, the election has been relatively free of violence, but the MDC is left fighting for its political life, with so few members being returned to Parliament.

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI: Our conclusion is that this has been a huge farce.

DEBORAH RICE: Morgan Tsvangirai, says the results should be declared null and void, because the polling did not meet international standards for a credible, legitimate, free and fair election.

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI: The credibility of this election has been marred by administrative and legal violations which affect the legitimacy of its outcome. It is a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people.

But the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has 7,000 observers, says the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission needs to answer some disturbing questions.

Irene Peterson, is the deputy chairperson.

IRENE PETERSON: Based on the empirical reports from our observers, regardless of the outcome, the credibility of the 2013 harmonised elections is seriously compromised by a systematic effort to disenfranchise urban voters, up to a million voters.

DEBORAH RICE: Leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change are calling for a campaign of "passive resistance." to shut down the country, telling people not to pay any bills or turn up at work.

Phillip Pasirayi, a Harare based political analyst and director of the Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe told Radio National's Fran Kelly the country is facing a new crisis as stunned MDC supporters express their disbelief.

PHILLIP PASIRAYI: The outcome does not reflect the will of the people. You know, with regards to the media, Zimbabwe has got one television - that is state controlled. You know involvement of state security agencies in the political process including the election, you know, thousands of advisors does not mean an election is credible.

We have raised fears, concerns about the state of the voters roll, we have raised concerns about the criminalisation of non-governmental organisations. We have raised concerns about the credibility of the Zimbabwe electoral commission.

DEBORAH RICE: But he says the people are looking for a political solution.

PHILLIP PASIRAYI: In terms of what needs to be done by the MDC and similar organisations, I think they now need to go back to drawing board and to provide leadership in some kind of political organising because people are generally agreed that this election has been squandered.

SCOTT BEVAN: Phillip Pasirayi, a Harare based political analyst and director of the Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe, ending that report from Deborah Rice.